Not An Apology
by Crocodile
Summary: Carl feels sorry for how things ended with Pete. When he spots Ron grieving at Pete's grave, he tries to comfort Ron as best he can. This leads to the discovery of feelings neither boy knew they had for the other. Prompt Fic. One-shot. Carl/Ron.


**NOT AN APOLOGY**

* * *

 **Prompt:** Instead of an expansion on the "Enid/Carl/Ron" fic, just a Ron/Carl fic? - Carl feels extremely bad about how the situation with Rick and Pete turned out. With Pete dead, and Ron now fatherless, maybe Carl finds Ron at his grave and comforts him, which leads to them hooking up later on.

* * *

 _Rick walked towards the crowd of the meeting, walking around the rotting walker corpse that he had dumped in front of them. These people needed a reality check and the walkers getting into the community had been just the situation Rick had been looking for._

" _I didn't bring it in. It got inside on its own." Rick told them, turning to Deanna as blood continued to drip down his face. "They always will, the dead and the living because we're in here."_

 _Rick glanced round at all the scared and confused faces. The only people who weren't shocked by the walker, his appearance or his words were those of his own group. Abraham, Michonne, Carol and Eugene._

" _And the ones out there, they'll hunt us, they'll find us. They'll try to use us, they'll try to kill us." Rick told them, the fear growing amongst them. "But we'll kill them. We'll survive, I'll show you how."_

 _Rick turned his attention back to Deanna who stood with her arms folded and a stunned expression on her face. They had been discussing whether or not they should exile Rick for being too dangerous yet here he was almost taking over the community with mere words. He was a natural born leader._

" _You know, I was thinking…I was thinking how many of you do I have to kill to save your lives?" Rick told them with a frustrated sigh._

 _The Alexandrians looked back at him in terror, finally noticing the Walther P22 handgun stuffed into the front of his belt. His friends watched him with stern faces, preparing themselves for the worst._

" _But I'm not gonna do that. You're gonna change." Rick told them before turning back to Deanna. "I'm not sorry for what I said last night. I'm sorry for not saying it sooner."_

 _Deanna glared back at him. It was surprising to hear that Rick wasn't sorry for his criticisms of them the night before while he had them at gunpoint. He had blamed them for the deaths that had happened, he had blamed them for pretty much everything that had went wrong since his people arrived. As Deanna considered what he was telling them all, she was beginning to realise that Rick was right._

" _You're not ready but you have to be. Right now you have to be." Rick told her, pleading with her to become a better leader as he glanced at the walker corpse. "Luck runs out."_

 _Rick turned back to the crowd, preparing to relax them or even take any questions. He knew he had made his case as best he could and all he could do was hope that they understood him. As he stood there, he noticed Jessie shake her head in fear. Rick turned to the entrance of Deanna's garden area to find Pete standing there with Michonne's sword in his hand._

" _You're not one of us." Pete growled before shouting. "You're not one of us!"_

 _Reginald rushed towards him, placing a hand on his shoulder to try and stop his advance. "Pete, you don't wanna do this."_

" _Get the hell away from me, Reg." Pete warned him as he continued to approach Rick._

" _Pete, stop." Reg insisted, still remaining in the way._

" _Get away from me, Reg." Pete repeated, his anger growing. "Get away."_

 _As the crowd backed up in terror, feeling trapped in the garden, Rick reached down for his handgun. Pete didn't intimidate him as the sword would not save him from a bullet._

" _Not now." Carol warned, as if reading his mind. They had to wait for the right moment._

" _Pete, just stop!" Reg continued stubbornly._

" _Get away, get away!" Pete bellowed and pushed Reg with both hands, the sword slicing into his neck and slitting his throat open._

 _The crowd screamed in horror as Reg fell back into Deanna's arms, blood shooting out of his neck like a fountain as Abraham knocked Pete to the ground and pinned him down. Rick calmly watched as Deanna desperately tried to save her husband._

" _No! No! Oh God no!" Deanna wailed as she tried in vain to stop the blood from pouring out of her husband's neck. "No! My love!"_

" _Don't listen to him! Don't!" Pete shouted desperately as Abraham applied more pressure. "Listen to him!"_

 _Rick turned away from Pete to watch Reginald die in Deanna's arms, a pool of blood already forming around them. Reg continued to gasp for breath as he choked on his own blood, his body convulsing slightly as he quickly faded away._

" _No, no, no! No my love!" Deanna continued to wail, tears running down her face. "No, my love! No, no, my love!"_

 _Michonne watched in shock and horror. It damaged her to the core and made her feel overwhelmingly guilty to see such a nice man like Reg struck down with her weapon._

" _It's him!" Pete bellowed like a lunatic as Abraham pressed his face into the ground. "This is him!"_

 _As the last drops of life left Reg's body, Deanna looked up at Rick as everything he had been saying finally hit home. Had she dealt with Pete before their arrival then Reg would still be alive. Had she let Rick kill Pete during their fight then Reg would still be alive. Reg was now gone, the love of her life had been taken from her in seconds by the community's violent drunk who had thrived on her compassion. That had to stop._

" _Rick?" Deanna finally spoke, her voice uneven and weak from crying. "Do it."_

 _Rick nodded once and turned to Pete as Abraham moved out of the way. Without hesitation Rick pulled the trigger and shot Pete in the head, executing him instantly and putting an end to the years of abuse he had subjected his wife and children to. The crowd had screamed at the sound of the gunshot but it was clear that it had been necessary. Pete had been too dangerous to let live in the community, just as Rick had tried to tell them the night before._

* * *

Ron remembered his mother's words when she returned from the meeting. He had been looking after his little brother when Jessie had returned looking visibly upset and shaken. She had struggled to tell him what had happened and insisted on Sam being asleep before she told him anything.

Ron remembered how his blood had run cold when his mother told him that his father was dead. It wasn't a simple death either, it hadn't been accidental or because of an undead monster. It had been because of Carl's father, Rick. Their supposed constable had shot his father in the head without hesitation. With one pull of a trigger, Ron had lost his father forever while Carl got to keep his.

Ron remembered the times when he was younger when his mother would pull him into a loving embrace when he was upset. Whenever he needed comfort or assurance she had always been there to make him feel better and fill him with a mother's warm confidence. The night before had been different. He had been doing that very thing for his mother instead. He needed someone to comfort him but his girlfriend, the enigmatic Enid, had disappeared outside the walls since the shooting. Perhaps she was too scared. Perhaps she didn't care. It didn't matter as all Ron could focus on was his tears as he sat by his father's grave.

Carl wasn't far away. He stood over the graves of Reginald and Noah, two good people who had been lost because of the mistakes of the community. Noah had been sacrificed by Nicholas so he could survive and Reg had been brutally killed by Pete while in a fit of rage. Carl was glad Pete was dead but was surprised that Glenn hadn't killed Nicholas that same night.

Once he was finished paying his respects to the two dead men, one of which he had considered a friend after so long on the road, he noticed that Ron was sitting by Pete's grave. Ron was completely alone and was crying his heart out, rocking back and forth with no one there to comfort him. Carl still considered Ron a friend and knew he couldn't leave him like that.

"Hey." Carl greeted gently, unsure of how to approach his grieving friend.

"Hi, Carl." Ron answered between gasps.

Carl slowly sat down next to Ron and looked at Pete's grave. "I'm sorry about your Dad."

"I don't want your apologies." Ron spat in response, trying to dry his eyes.

"It's not an apology." Carl told him calmly. "Your Dad would hit your mum and he killed Reg. He deserved what he got. That's what I'm sorry for."

Ron nodded, accepting this explanation as harsh as it was. He couldn't argue with Carl because it was the truth. Even if he had wanted to argue he wouldn't have because Carl was the only person so far who had been willing to talk to him about it.

"I wish I could have stopped it. If only he hadn't done that." Ron sobbed out. "I know he was a dick when he was drunk but I miss him."

"Why?" Carl asked, inching a little closer to make Ron feel less alone.

"When he was sober he was actually a nice guy." Ron explained. "He was funny and he was a lot of fun."

"If only he had stayed sober." Carl commented softly, not really knowing what to say.

"If only. The addiction won, Carl. The addiction won." Ron sobbed as he instinctively wrapped his arms around the other teen.

Carl was slightly surprised but quickly wrapped his own arms around Ron's shaking body. He could feel Ron's tears drop onto his shoulder as the other boy continued to cry into the embrace. All Ron needed in that moment was someone to hold, someone to comfort him and Carl was that person. Carl was the friend that Ron could count on and trust and it meant the world to him.

"It's okay. I know how bad it hurts." Carl whispered in Ron's ear as he continued to weep. "I lost my mum. I know what you're going through."

"I know." Ron managed to choke out before pulling himself tighter against Carl as he let his tears flow freely.

* * *

 _The sun shone brightly on the Anderson family's back garden with birds singing in the trees above. In their well decorated, beautifully kept garden, Pete was outside on the grass with his eldest son, Ron. They were passing a football between each other as Pete was teaching Ron how to play._

 _They spent most of their Saturdays like this as Pete had those days off from work at the surgery. Since he had been working all week he had no time to be drinking and Jessie had arranged Alcoholics Anonymous meetings for him that were working wonders. He was being a father and a husband again._

 _Ron laughed as he accidentally kicked the ball into his dad's face, earning him a mockingly angry look from the tall man. Pete, not one to be outdone, kicked the ball back at Ron and managed to strike him in the gut. They were even by all accounts and were having a lot of fun despite the slight pain involved in the activity._

 _Their laughter was cut short as a loud bang echoed around them. The bang was the unmistakable sound of a gunshot. Ron looked up from the ball to see blood running down his father's face from the bullet hole in his forehead. He collapsed to the ground in front of Ron to reveal Rick standing behind him, the gun still smoking._

* * *

Carl and Rick sat at the dining table in silence as they ate breakfast. It had been a rough time for them as changes were taking place all around them with Rick in the centre of it all. Deanna had effectively relinquished her power over the community to Rick due to her emotional instability and naivety in the face of outside threats. This had put a lot of pressure on Rick and had created a few enemies within the community. Carl was still fairly convinced that his father could have dealt with Pete differently and had killed him so he could get closer to Jessie. It was no secret that Rick was attracted to her.

As if on cue, there was a knock on the front door and when Rick got up and answered it he found Jessie on the other side. After a couple quick, awkward greetings she stepped into the house looking very nervous.

"Rick, have you or Carl seen Ron?" She asked, her voice almost cracking.

Rick narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "Is he missing?"

Jessie nodded her head rapidly. "I went to wake him up this morning and he wasn't in his bed. I can't find him anywhere and no one has seen him."

"Don't worry." Rick told her, quickly pulling on his windbreaker. "We'll find him. Carl?"

Carl placed his hat on his head and nodded to his father, already heading out the front door in search of his friend. Rick stayed back with Jessie to search with her while Carl ran off. If Ron hadn't been seen anywhere then he already had an idea of where he could be so Carl made his way to the armoury.

* * *

"Hi, Carl." Olivia greeted as the teenager let himself in. "Need something?"

"Just my gun." Carl told her as he made his way past her to the handgun locker.

"Hey, you can't just barge in here whenever you want, you know." Olivia attempted to scold him.

"My friend is missing and I think he's outside the walls." Carl snapped back at her, placing his Beretta in his thigh holster. "I need to find him."

Carl was sure Olivia retorted with some argument or suggestion but he honestly didn't hear it. He was back out the door that fast that there was no chance of him listening to anything she had to say. Carl ran as fast as he could down to the front gate where Spencer stood guarding it with his Benelli M4 shotgun on his back.

After quickly explaining the situation and showing that he had his gun, Spencer let Carl out of the gate and closed it behind him. Carl had a feeling that Ron wandered off outside to be away from everything, be it away from the community or just from Rick. Ron had no idea how to handle himself in the outside world and Carl knew that so he was desperate to find the boy before a walker ate him or some psychopath killed him.

* * *

After only five minutes of searching through the woodland Carl finally spotted Ron. He was sitting on a fallen log with his head down, as if concentrating on something in his hands. Carl slowly made his way up to him, careful to not startle him until he knew if he was okay or not. Unfortunately, Carl wasn't very light of foot and the rustling of the leaves and the snapping of sticks under his boots gave him away.

Ron turned round and surprised Carl by aiming a gun at him. The Smith & Wesson Model 29 revolver shook in Ron's inexperienced hands as he held it at Carl who stood in shock with his hands up. Ron looked like he had been crying, his eyes red and puffy while he fought to keep his breathing even.

"Hey." Carl greeted softly. "Are you gonna lower that?"

"Hi, Carl." Ron replied, slowly lowering the gun before dropping back down on the log. "Sorry."

Carl checked their surroundings before he walked over and sat down next to Ron. His friend's gaze remained focused on the revolver that sat in his lap. Carl wasn't the person Ron had been expecting nor hoping for and he had now lost his nerve.

"What are you doing out here with a gun?" Carl asked him in genuine concern. "And how'd you get it?"

"Stole it from the armoury around five this morning." Ron explained with a shrug. "Was hoping it would be your Dad who'd find me."

Carl fought the protective anger brewing inside of him at Ron's confession of wanting to shoot Rick. He understood how he was feeling. It was a horrible mix of anger, frustration and grief so he was naturally looking for revenge where there was none worth seeking.

"Doing something like that won't help." Carl suggested hesitantly. "It'll just make things worse."

"My dad is dead, Carl!" Ron snapped at him in frustration. "Yours isn't and yours killed mine!"

Carl grit his teeth and took a breath. "There's no reason for you to die too. We should head back."

"You go if you want." Ron replied as Carl stood up. "I'm staying right here."

Carl sighed and sat back down. "Then I'm staying too."

"Why?" Ron questioned him. "You said it yourself, we shouldn't be out here."

"Because you'll die out here on your own." Carl explained quickly. "And I don't want you to die."

Ron fell silent for a moment. He knew they were friends but Carl sounded extremely sincere about not wanting him to die.

"And what if a lot of those monsters come?" Ron asked him stubbornly.

"I have fifteen rounds in my gun and you have six." Carl answered. "So we're only in trouble if there's more than twenty."

"I can't go back, Carl." Ron growled in frustration. "Your dad is dangerous!"

"Only when he needs to be." Carl argued. "Being dangerous is how you survive nowadays. I'm dangerous too."

Ron scoffed at the statement. "You can't be dangerous. You're too nice for that."

Carl paused for a moment to process the compliment before continuing the argument. "I am dangerous. Bad things have happened to me and I don't want more bad things to happen to you."

"There's not many more bad things that could happen to me." Ron argued stubbornly, his voice starting to crack as he thought about his dad and his nightmare.

"I wish I could change things." Carl told him. "I wish I could swap places with you so you wouldn't have to feel this pain."

Ron turned his head and stared at him for a moment. The sentiment meant a lot to him because it meant that Carl truly cared. The fact that Carl would willingly switch places with him hit him hard and before he knew it he was crying again. Seconds later he felt Carl's arms wrap around him as Carl's body pressed against him.

"I'm sorry, Ron." Carl whispered in his ear as he sobbed.

"I don't want apologies." Ron retorted in between sobs.

"It's not an apology." Carl replied. He was sorry that Ron's life had never been all that great. He wasn't sorry for what he had said.

Slowly but surely, Ron's sobbing came to an end and they pulled out of the hug. As Carl pulled back he looked into Ron's eyes to see if he was done crying and found himself lingering there in front of him. Their faces were close enough that they could feel one another's breaths on their skin. Carl felt strange, he didn't want to move from that position but he knew he had do. When he pulled away, Ron swallowed in disappointment. He hadn't wanted Carl to move away like that.

"We should get back." Carl repeated as he stood up.

Ron nodded in defeat and also stood up, still clutching the revolver in his hands. Carl placed a hand on his back as he guided him back through the trees towards the perimeter wall. He always preferred to use the perimeter wall as a guide even if it took slightly longer to get to. As they walked, both boys were wrapped up in the same thoughts as they tried to figure out what the feeling was they had shared moments before.

The boys were so wrapped up in their thoughts that they didn't hear the soft snarls of a walker until it was too late. Ron suddenly dropped to the ground with his gun falling out of reach as a hidden walker grabbed his ankle. The walker had been lying on the ground for some unknown reason and had quickly made its way on top of the boy. Ron cried out in fear as the corpse pinned him down.

Carl quickly rushed over to Ron and grabbed the walker by its hair, pulling its head back and away from Ron's body so that he didn't get bitten. He quickly pulled out his knife and thrust it into the walker's skull, ending its existence and causing the corpse to drop dead on Ron's legs. Carl helped Ron to push the walker's body off of him before checking him for bites frantically.

Ron hadn't been bitten but was shaking from adrenaline and terror. He quickly hugged Carl as an involuntary show of gratitude. Carl hugged him back and let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. Seeing Ron pinned down by the walker had scared him almost as much as it had done Ron. When they separated, Carl quickly picked up Ron's revolver and hid it in his jacket pocket.

"I won't tell anyone you stole the gun." Carl told the confused teen, earning a grateful smile.

"Thanks, Carl." Ron replied, still shaken from the whole ordeal.

* * *

Twenty minutes later and they had returned to Alexandria and most importantly, to Ron's house. The window was still smashed in the front room from Rick's fight with Pete but the four of them sat on the sofa as Ron explained what happened. He had left out his desire to kill Rick in return for Carl not mentioning the gun and instead explained he had a nightmare and needed to get away from the community for a bit.

Ron also made sure to put in a good word for Carl to Rick by explaining that his son saved his life. Rick wasn't surprised by this information but was nonetheless proud of Carl for saving his friend. Carl didn't see it as a big deal in itself, he had saved plenty of people from walkers and had been saved many times himself. The fact that he had saved Ron was what was important to Carl, though he dared not mention that.

As Jessie and Rick needed to speak in private, they opted to go back to the house Rick and Carl stayed in as everyone else was out. They made sure to check if Carl and Ron were okay with being left alone in the Anderson house, which both boys confirmed rather quickly. Ron still had his videogames in his room so he and Carl could be easily occupied for a couple of hours if necessary.

Once Rick and Jessie had left, Carl and Ron headed up to Ron's room and sat on the edge of his bed. The intention was to play some videogames but as they both sat there together, alone in the large house, they found that neither one wanted to get up to put the television or games consoles on. They sat there in silence, both of them wrapped up in their own thoughts until Ron finally broke the silence between them.

"Who have you lost so far?" Ron asked him, hesitant over the sensitivity of the subject.

Carl sighed. "My mum, Hershel and Beth."

"Just those three?" Ron pressed, surprised at the low number, knowing Noah recently died.

"Those are the three I can't really get over." Carl confessed. "Those are the ones that hurt the most."

Ron hesitated for a moment but he needed to know if Carl really could understand how he felt. "How did they die?"

Carl sighed and decided to tell Ron the gruesome details, knowing fine well he was going to get upset from reliving the terrible events. He decided it was best to do them in order.

 _Lori lay on her back as Maggie attempted to induce the baby. Unfortunately the baby didn't want to come out so they had no choice but to cut Lori open, which would mean sacrificing her life for the baby. They were trapped in the tombs of the prison with walkers roaming everywhere and were running out of time._

" _Carl? Baby, I don't want you to be sad, okay?" Lori told her young son. "This is what I want, this is right. You take care of your daddy for me, alright? And your baby brother or sister."_

" _You don't have to do this!" Carl pleaded, tears falling down his face._

" _You're gonna be fine. You're gonna beat this world I know you will. You are smart, you are strong and you are so brave." Lori told him with a proud smile. "And I love you."_

" _I love you too." Carl replied, sucking in a breath as his tears continued to fall._

" _You gotta do what's right, baby. Promise me you'll always do what's right." Lori continued, holding her son's hand. "It's so easy to do the wrong thing in this world, so if it feels wrong don't do it. If it feels easy don't do it, don't let the world screw you!"_

 _Lori cried with Carl as she tried to wipe his tears away. "You're so good, my sweet boy. You're the best thing I ever did. I love you!"_

" _I love you too!" Carl sobbed in response as she pulled him into a tight hug on the floor._

" _I love you! My sweet, sweet boy, I love you!" Lori continued as Maggie watched on, also in tears._

" _Okay, okay." Lori told Carl, kissing him and releasing him as they prepared to cut her open. "Maggie, when this is over you're going to have to do it, it can't be Rick!"_

" _It's alright, it's alright." Lori repeated as Carl handed Maggie his knife. "Goodnight, love."_

 _Those were the last words Lori ever said to her son. The rest of what happened was a blur in Carl's mind as Maggie cut his mother open and pulled out his little sister, Judith. Lori's screams had pierced through his ears and into his very soul before she fell quiet from shock and blood loss._

" _We have to go." Maggie told the boy, cradling the baby in her arms._

" _We can't just leave her here." Carl told her. "She'll turn."_

 _Maggie reached for her knife._

" _No." Carl stopped her, pulling out his Beretta. "She's my mum!"_

 _Maggie left as Carl turned around and stared at his mother's lifeless body for a few moments. He reflected on his father's warning about people dying, about how he could no longer be a kid. Carl raised the gun, aimed it at his mother's head and pulled the trigger. The gunshot echoed loudly throughout the tombs._

"Hershel was like a grandfather." Carl explained to Ron as he moved on to the next death. "He was the nicest, wisest man I've ever known."

 _The Governor was at the prison gates, his militia ready with a tank and several guns all of them ready to kill those who lived in the prison. In front of them, Michonne and Hershel were knelt down on the grass as Rick tried to negotiate with the psycho in front of him. The Governor, not taking no for an answer, pulled out Michonne's sword and held it against Hershel's neck._

" _You! You, in the pony tail. Is this what you want?" Rick called out, trying to appeal to Tara. "Is this what any of you want?!"_

" _What we want is what you got. Period." The man in the tank answered. "Time for you to leave, asshole!"_

" _Look, I fought him before and after we took in his old friends, they've become leaders in what we have here." Rick told them, pointing at the Governor. "Now you put down your weapons, walk through those gates. You're one of us."_

 _The Governor glared at Rick with his one good eye. The whole scenario was not playing out as he had hoped. Rick was being perfectly reasonable._

" _We let go of all of it and nobody dies. Everyone who is alive right now, everyone who's made it this far. We've all done the worst kinds of things just to stay alive!" Rick pleaded with them. "But we can still come back. We're not too far gone. We get to come back and I know we all can change."_

 _The Governor slowly removed the sword from Hershel's neck. The old man smiled to Rick as he realised the leader of their group had indeed been listening to all the things he had been saying. Rick had changed and was actually trying to do the right thing, even with the Governor. The Governor, however, doubted he could ever let go of the past. He doubted any of them could._

 _The Governor glared at Rick. "Liar!"_

 _With one sudden swing, the Governor sliced into Hershel's neck with Michonne's sword, decapitating the old man only half way. Hershel's head dropped to the side as his neck was sliced open, blood pouring down his shirt as he dropped to the ground. Rick screamed and opened fire on the Governor's militia. The battle had begun._

"Beth was like a big sister to me." Carl explained to his friend, tears falling freely down both their faces. "We thought we had lost her but then we found out she was alive."

 _Dawn took Beth by the arm and led her down the corridor while Rick approached her with Shepherd. Rick and Dawn let go of each hostage and allowed them to walk back to their own groups. Rick placed a hand on the side of Beth's face and greeted her. He was glad to see her considering the last he saw of her was before Hershel had been killed by the Governor. Beth had a couple cuts on her face but was otherwise unharmed. He kissed her on the head before walking back to the group with her._

 _Beth looked back as they walked after feeling Dawn's piercing stare upon them._

" _I'm glad we could work things out." Dawn commented._

" _Yeah." Rick replied gruffly. He had his people and wanted nothing more than to leave._

" _Now I just need Noah." Dawn told them, stopping the group in its tracks. "And then you can leave."_

 _Rick turned around and marched towards her, his hand resting on the handle of his Colt Python revolver._

" _That wasn't part of the deal." He retorted with irritation._

" _Noah was my ward. Beth took his place and now I'm losing her so I need him back." Dawn explained coldly._

" _Ma'am that's not…" Shepherd tried to reason with her._

" _Shut up!" Dawn hissed. "My officers put their lives on the line to find him. One of them died."_

 _Daryl growled and stepped forward. "He ain't staying."_

" _He's one of mine, you have no claim on him." Dawn countered._

" _The boy wants to go home so you have no claim on him." Rick growled._

" _Well then we don't have a deal." Dawn challenged._

" _The deal is done!" Rick barked angrily._

" _It's okay!" Noah interrupted, trying to stop a fight from breaking out._

" _No, no!" Rick argued. It wasn't okay. It wasn't fair and it wasn't part of the deal._

" _I gotta do it." Noah told him, handing him back a gun._

" _It's not okay." Beth commented as Rick took the gun back._

" _It's settled." Dawn stated as Noah walked towards her._

" _Wait!" Beth called out and rushed up to Noah, embracing him in a tight hug._

" _No, it's okay." Noah reassured her. If it meant nobody died then his freedom was worth sacrificing._

" _I knew you'd be back." Dawn commented._

 _Beth opened her eyes and glared at Dawn. The female leader of the Grady Memorial group always made herself out to be a victim. Convinced Beth that she acted the way she did because of all the bad cops within their ranks. Her actions in that corridor told Beth a different story. Dawn was a control freak. She played the sympathy card so that people would feel like they were doing her a favour instead of doing her bidding without any choice. Dawn was trying to be in charge even now. She was one of the bad ones and she was about to steal Noah's freedom, the very thing Beth had fought hard to attain._

 _Beth released Noah and slowly walked up to Dawn until they were face to face. She glared into Dawn's eyes, now seeing what she truly was. The_ _bitch_ _that she was. Beth was tired of being controlled by her. Beth was tired of feeling sorry for her. Beth was tired of never fighting back. Beth was sick of the sight of her._

" _I get it now." She hissed at Dawn._

 _Suddenly Beth pulled out a pair of large medical scissors from her sleeve and stabbed Dawn in the collar with them. The shock of the attack and the pain from the stab caused Dawn's muscles to contract, one of them being her trigger finger. The loud bang of the gunshot echoed painfully in the corridor as blood shot out the back of Beth's head. Her body fell limp and collapsed to the floor._

 _There was a stunned silence. Dawn had just shot Beth in the head and it wasn't clear if it had been intentional or an accident. Everyone looked on in horror as Dawn turned to them. Her expression was also one of horror and regret as she tried to explain that it had been an accident. She hadn't meant to fire the gun and certainly hadn't meant to kill Beth._

 _Daryl didn't care. With tears rolling down his face he stepped forward and pulled out his gun. Before Dawn could say another word he pulled the trigger and shot her in the head in vengeance._

Before Carl could say any more, Ron had moved from his previous position and had wrapped his arms around Carl. It was his turn to be the one providing comfort to the damaged boy beside him. Ron had been so consumed within his own grief that he had totally forgotten about all the pain and hardships his friend had been through.

Ron felt guilty and selfish. He had ignored Carl's pain because of his own and had planned to take Carl's father from him out of a misguided thirst for revenge. Carl only had two blood relatives left and Ron had seriously considered shooting one of them. Ron cried with Carl as he remembered how Carl had treated him for that, he had saved him from a walker and covered for him so no one knew. Carl was a hero in Ron's eyes. He was such a good person, just like his mother had said in her final moments. Carl had made Lori proud.

They stopped crying and pulled apart with their faces lingering next to one another yet again. The boys stared into each other's red, puffy eyes as their heartbeats pounded in their chests. They both felt something, as if it was magnetic between them. Before Carl could comment on it, Ron closed his eyes and closed the gap between them.

Carl froze on the spot as he felt Ron's soft lips on his own. As Ron had his eyes closed and his arms around Carl once again, the dark haired boy closed his own eyes and returned the kiss just as softly. It was his first kiss so he didn't know if he was any good or not but he knew it didn't really matter. All that mattered was how right it felt to be kissing Ron in that moment.

They broke apart and stared into one another's eyes. There was a mixture of residual grief, confusion and most prominently, desire.

"Is this okay?" Ron questioned. He wanted to kiss Carl again but he was hesitant.

Carl nodded, placing a hand on the back of his neck. "Yeah."

Carl pulled Ron back towards him, crashing their lips together in a stronger and more confident kiss. Ron, having experience with Enid, licked at Carl's lips with his tongue until the dark haired boy's lips parted to grant his tongue entrance. Carl moaned gently into the kiss as Ron's tongue explored his mouth, teasing his own which tentatively fought back.

As Carl grew in confidence his tongue movements became stronger as he returned Ron's kiss. Ron increased the strength of the kiss in response to Carl's encouragement and leaned forward, slowly and gently forcing Carl onto his back on the bed. Carl's hands rubbed up and down Ron's back while Ron's hands rubbed down Carl's sides to his hips. Their legs were shaking and their hearts were pounding at a hundred beats a minute. The lip lock and embrace felt incredibly good, the pleasure causing their blood to rush through their bodies and down to their loins.

Carl broke the kiss and gasped loudly along with Ron as they groins finally pressed together. Ron smiled down at Carl as he rolled his hips to grind his clothed hardness against Carl's own. Carl instinctively pulled Ron down for another passionate kiss as he bucked his hips up to meet Ron's grinding motions, moaning deeply into the kiss as the pleasure shot through his body.

"Carl, wait." Ron interrupted, stopping and reaching down to Carl's belt. "Can I?"

Carl swallowed nervously before nodding, his body shaking with sexual adrenaline. Upon Carl's consent, Ron unbuckled the leather belt before unbuttoning Carl's jeans and opening them up. He pushed the offending fabric down Carl's hips along with his boxers, finally revealing the dark haired boy's throbbing erection. Carl blushed as Ron stared hungrily at his ardent need before reaching up to unbuckle Ron's belt as well. Ron helped him push down his jeans and boxers so that they were both exposed.

Ron brought his lips down to Carl's as he lowered his hips and started rubbing his erection against Carl's. Both boys groaned into each other's mouths at the sharp increase in pleasure the simple act brought now that it was skin on skin. Carl desperately needed something more so his hand shot down between them. He struggled to get both of their members in his hand so that he could stroke them. Noticing his difficulty, Ron came up with a better idea and guided Carl's hand onto his shaft while his own hand wrapped itself around Carl's throbbing need.

Both boys moaned loudly as they started stroking each other's shafts. They started off slow and hesitant, getting a feel of what they were doing and gauging what brought more pleasure to the other. Once they had made these judgements they started stroking faster and faster. Their hands were slickened by the precum that had started to leak between them from the tips of their solid rods. Ron leaned back down to kiss Carl again, he was addicted to the other boy's taste and moaned into his mouth as they picked up their pace.

The kissing and the stroking was fast, sloppy but passionate. They were working on raw emotion, raw need, raw desire and pure instinct. Their objective was to bring as much pleasure to the other boy as possible and their moans told them they were succeeding. Sweat started to form on their hairline as they gasped and moaned between kisses, their faces flushed scarlet from the pleasure and the effort. They were in a whirlwind of pleasure and they were fast approaching release, both of them bucking their hips in desperate search of even more pleasure.

Carl was the first to finish. He threw his head back and let out a high pitched cry of pleasure as he shot over Ron's hand, his hips bucking uncontrollably as indescribable pleasure shot through his body like hard drugs. He felt dizzy and had squeezed his eyes shut. His shaking made his strokes on Ron's member become uneven and more focused on the sensitive head. The combination of Carl's shaky strokes on the head of his shaft along with the mere sight of Carl's stunning climax was enough to instantly push Ron over the edge with a drawn out groan of Carl's name. Ron shook above Carl as his hips bucked and his body was assaulted with orgasmic pleasure before he dropped gently down on top of him.

Ron rolled over and grabbed a t-shirt that had been discarded on his bed from the night before. He used it to clean up most of the messy grey liquid that covered their hands and groins. He tossed the shirt into a corner of the room before snuggling up against Carl, their softening members still exposed and gently rubbing together as they gazed into one another's eyes.

"Wow." Carl breathed out slowly, finally coming down from his orgasmic high.

Ron chuckled, his voice hoarse. "You know, I always thought Enid would be my first."

Carl was shocked at the revelation of Ron being totally virgin to any sexual contact up until their encounter.

"I'm sorry." Carl murmured while blushing again.

"I don't want an apology, Carl." Ron scolded him quickly.

Carl smirked cheekily back at him. "It's not an apology."

* * *

 **There we have it. This was planned out more or less on the same day I received the prompt. However, I didn't get writing it until the day after I uploaded chapter 22 of Search. This didn't take long to write, so it'll either be good or atrocious. Hopefully it at least lives up to expectations.**

 **I have one more pending prompt to write. If anyone has any others, feel free to request them in the comments. They don't have to be smut/romantic one-shots. They can be any range of things. Just let me know rating, characters and a rough plot outline for each prompt.**

 **Leave a review and let me know what you think! ^_^;**

 **Original publication date: 20/09/15.**


End file.
